In 2006, two trailblazing artists joined forces to bring one of the most inventive comics ever made to the silver screen. The result was 300, which transformed Frank Miller’s epic retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae into a cinematic spectacle and cemented its director, Zack Snyder, as a force to be reckoned with. Now, almost two decades later, Snyder and Miller reunite for a wide-ranging conversation about the nature of superheroes, comics, and art itself as part of Inverse’s 2024 Superhero Issue, guest edited by Zack Snyder. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Zack Snyder: Look, here's the thing, I was approached by Inverse to curate an issue of their online magazine, and they were like, “What do you want to talk about in comic books?” The first thing I said is, “I want to talk about sex.” And they were like, “Jesus, OK, well…” And then I said, “OK, but you know what I'm saying?” If I said to my father like, “Oh, I want to work in comic books,” he'd be like, “Oh, that's cute. You're going to work with the children.” But my perception of comic books is that — and it's partly your fault, Frank — I perceive comic books as one of the most complete storytelling formats where the artist, with words and pictures, can describe the human condition in the most complicated and beautiful way. And so I told them, “Look, I really want to explore the perception of comic books as an adult medium with adult themes, real struggles, and psychologically complex characters that are fully formed in their morality, or lack thereof, and really hold up a mirror to us as a society.”
